Between reckless grooves, shimmering leads, and Byzantine riffs, those familiar with Dylan Cruz’s projects should have some idea of what Hanging Garden offers. Sophomore album Dream Death once again features New York’s Cruz as the band’s sole musical contributor, and while he’s acted as guitarist, bassist, and vocalist across various projects (Scumbag, Dissonance, and formerly Noxis), solo project Hanging Garden finds him supplying every piece of the sonic gamut. While Scumbag’s Homicide Cult featured Cruz’s low-end, knuckle-dragging heft, what usually stands out about his performances are the progressive-leaning, riff-centric guitar displays. Throughout Cruz’s projects,1 his creative application of six-string shenanigans never fails to cook up hooks, and Dream Death proves another worthy notch in his belt. Yet you need more than a few sick licks to keep listeners coming back for more. Does Dream Death offer enough to keep folks Hanging around?
Hanging Garden trades in densely clustered, bone-rattling compositions that whip and seethe in unpredictable paroxysms of melody and br00tality. In this way, it’s clear that Noxis’s Violence Inherent in the System shares DNA with Hanging Garden, as both walk the line between bursts of frenzied riffing and snaking leads. Second track “Ondine” most reminds me of Noxis as it cruises and bruises with a punchy intro and continues throwing haymakers throughout. Opener “Arete” leans closer to Scumbag early on, storming the Garden gates with an adrenalized ferocity that should set your headbangometer to ‘breakneck’ tout de suite. Unlike Cruz’s aforementioned projects, though, Dream Death ups the ante from Hanging Garden’s debut, The God That Made Them Bow, and emphasizes melodic backdrops and gazey layers alongside the whiplashing punishments of their deathly wares.
Though Cruz excels at master-crafting wicked riffs and searing solos, Hanging Garden gives him an arena to develop dimensions outside his other current and former projects. It’s no cause for alarm—the riffs and solos still thrill on Dream Death—it’s just that here they collide with vibrant textures, bestowing dynamic stratifications of sounds woven into an aural tapestry that billows and ripples with audacity. Though hinted at early on, swells of euphony unfurl as listeners delve deeper into Dream Death. “Dreamwoven” begins with beefy, slug ‘n’ chug tactics that’ll slap the stank right on your face. Then a jangle of notes rings out atop filthy grooves and blossoms over the course of the track, where almost-but-not-quite mellifluousness jostles against nasty barbarity. This give and take persists throughout Dream Death, where melody asserts more control through the back half, especially on closer “Suffering Radiant Memories,” even though the thuggery never dissipates completely.
Though Hanging Garden marshals forces primal and sophisticated on Dream Death, a few modifications could have commanded an even greater impact. Given the relatively compact instrumentation,2 the production doesn’t necessitate a huge dynamic range to let organic timbres and resonances through, yet the busy compositions occasionally ache for more space. The walls of sound, like those heard on “Arete” and “Endymion,” exact their toll across a tidy forty-one minutes, and while this isn’t a huge knock against, a little extra breathing room would allow Hanging Garden’s arrangements to cut deeper. More positively, Cruz presents a wide variety of atmospheres and riffs without anything ever feeling out of place. Considering the ground covered on Dream Death, this is no mean feat. And though I appreciate the assortment of sonic elements on tap, I wish there was a tad more cohesion amongst the bump and scrape of melody and wiolence. Not to suggest none exists, mind, as everything blooming in Hanging Garden bears fruit—only that putting a finer point on the balance between the two would take Dream Death to even greater heights.
Once again, Dylan Cruz makes his presence immediately known and appreciated, delivering a big success with Hanging Garden’s second platter. Dream Death takes a few listens to dig into and get a sense of what’s happening, but doing so is well worth the time. From the thrash-driven leads on “Tears of Lustful, Secret Desire” that collapse into post-addled textures to the tech death soloing and battery on “Carambola,” Cruz plants his prog death seeds deep enough to let your Garden groan. Amidst a rising tide of quality releases, Hanging Garden remains rooted in relevance and entreats you to dare to Dream Death.
Rating: Very Good
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: September 18th, 2026
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